Destitute Family Burns Furniture to Stay Warm

During the harsh winters in the former Soviet Union, the Mardakhayev family desperately tried to stay warm. They made fires in their unheated home, and when they ran out of firewood they began burning their furniture. There are now almost no furnishings in their run-down apartment and their three year old must sleep in a makeshift hammock.

Though they have been looking tirelessly, neither of the Mardakhayev parents can find steady work. The mother takes occasional jobs as a cleaning lady, but her meager income isn't nearly enough to cover all of the family's expenses — including the expense of heating fuel. This winter is an especially harsh one in the FSU, making the need for warmth all the more critical, and the expense of heating bills impossible, for impoverished families like the Mardakhayevs. Thousands of families and elderly residents across the region are now forced to choose between buying food or heating their home.

With so many impoverished people facing such desperate conditions, The Fellowship has launched Operation Warmth. This emergency campaign distributes blankets and helps needy Jewish families — like the Mardakhayevs — and elderly throughout the FSU to pay their heating bills.

Thanks to our generous donors, this needy family now has the assistance they desperately need to heat their home. as well as clothing and food. The Fellowship has given the Mardakhayevs hope, but there are so many other families like them throughout the FSU. You can help ease the pain of impoverished Jews through a gift to Operation Warmth.